


Galaxia

by CRT_Ghost



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018), She-Ra: Princess Of Power (1985)
Genre: Admiral Adora, Alternate Universe - Military, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, And violence, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Chronic Pain, Commodore Catra, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Adora (She-Ra), IN SPACE!, Injury, Lesbian Adora (She-Ra), Lesbian Catra (She-Ra), Lesbians in Space, M/M, Military, Military Science Fiction, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Outer Space, Past Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Past Relationship(s), Rebellion, Romance, SCI FI REFERENCES FOR EVERYONE!, Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Space Battles, Space Flight, Space Homosexuality, Space Opera, Space Stations, Space Wives, Speculative fiction, Tags may be a lil lacking to avoid spoilers just a warning!, There will be swearing, also the gay feels, and lots of military/scifi babble, angella is an overprotective mom, gays, it's like a space war people will probs die, our girls are space navy gays!, scifi, sf, the scifi au nobody asked for!, this is my first fic ever idk how to tag help
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27194333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CRT_Ghost/pseuds/CRT_Ghost
Summary: The Galactic Horde and the Outworld Alliance have been at war for decades. The Horde seeking to expand its territory and influence, the Alliance fighting to protect the freedom and independence of its worlds.Adora, a former officer in the Horde's navy, finds herself now in a position of command on the opposite side of the war. After years of fighting and regrets over those that she left behind she leads a diplomatic mission back into Horde territory. Contending with the suppressed emotions of her past and the lingering pains of combat injuries, she chooses to pour her focus into doing her job and doing it well.What happens when she finally gets to see the face of the woman she feels she left behind?---SF Navy AU written by a sleepy gay geek! Enjoy!
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra/Kyle/Lonnie/Rogelio (She-Ra), Angella/Micah (She-Ra), Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Castaspella/Juliet (She-Ra), Catra & Scorpia (She-Ra), Kyle/Lonnie/Rogelio (She-Ra), Kyle/Rogelio (She-Ra), Netossa/Spinnerella (She-Ra), other relationships to be added
Comments: 39
Kudos: 49





	1. The Eyes of Lost Children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short introduction. More to come soon!

"What are we looking at, Ensign?" Adora leaned over the young Watchman, a hand on the back of his chair.

"Looks like a Horde Wolf Pack, Admiral. We have a single command cruiser at center-rear, with a complement of four destroyers. Two on each forward flank to the cruiser. Two above, two below." He replied, not looking up from his monitors.

Adora hummed thoughtfully, looking over his shoulder at the display. "Think they're itching for a knife fight?"

The Ensign chewed his lower lip, "Hard to say, ma'am. They don't seem to be applying anymore thrust to close the gap... but they definitely have eyes on us. Looks like they haven't sortied any drones yet either."

Directly to the left of the Watchman's station, at the center of the bridge's curved command terminal, was the Helmsman, eyes glowing with the reflection as her hands moved within the holographic display before her.

"Helmsman?" Adora glanced up from the Watchman's computer to look at the stern-faced young woman steering the ship.

"Ma'am?" came the terse reply.

"Keep us steady and on course. A nice, even speed so we don't spook them."

"Aye, aye."

"Fire Control?" Adora turned to the right.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Keep the guns cool."

"Aye."

"Hopefully this patrol isn't the, 'shoot first, hail their comms later' sort, eh?" Adora mused, a tired quirk at the edge of her lips, before patting the back of the Watchman's chair and making her way back to her own.

The Captain's Chair was a small step above and behind the command terminal where her crew busied themselves. The seat gave her a nice, wide view of the entire bridge. The centerpiece was the long, curved 'desk' that housed each seat and terminal for the bridge crew proper; the Communications and Navigation stations on the left curve, the Watchman, and Fire Control officer on the right, and the Helmsman at the apex of the control board. To the right of the control board sat the Damage Control Officer at her own free-standing station. On Adora's immediate left was the XO's seat, the Senior Engineer's chair on the right. Finally, stretching across the far wall of the bridge for all to view was the massive display screen, acting as their 'window' to the vacuum outside of the ship.

She eased herself into the Captain's chair, wincing a bit as the pressure from her left leg shifted. With a sigh she tapped a few holo-keys on the right arm of the chair, bringing up a small display list of names, departments, and rooms aboard the ship. Her index finger swiped the list before spotting the comm-link she was searching for then tapped it. The comm chimed as the link went through.

"Glim? We've got a Horde detachment in our flight path. You and Bow come up to the bridge." Adora's voice was softer, less rigid and commanding than with the bridge crew, but it retained an echo of her typical military callousness in its texture.

A soft electrical buzz filtered through the chair's built-in speaker, "We're on our way up now." The communicator clicked off.

The bridge went quiet, only the hum of the ship and the synthetic pings and clicks of the various computers to fill the void. Adora's lips pressed into a tight line as she watched the various displays on the far wall, waiting to see if the Horde ships would move in for an intercept course. The scar across her left eye began to itch. She sighed, frowned, and brought her black-gloved left hand up to her face, rubbing softly from where the scar began, just above her brow, and following down to the middle of her cheek. While she wasn't one-hundred percent sure as to why the scar itched whenever she was anxious, she had decided that it was simply psychosomatic, so she never bothered to voice a complaint. It was a mild irritation at worst anyway, nothing worth bothering anyone with as far as she was concerned.

The bridge entryway hissed open behind her, followed by the sound of boots as the marine security detail posted by the door stood at attention. Adora swiveled the command chair to the left, flashing a small smile to Glimmer and Bow, her neat blonde ponytail whipping slightly below her officer’s hat from the motion. The pair returned the smile with a bit more gusto than Adora could usually muster, and made their way to the command chairs that flanked her.

Glimmer settled into the XO’s seat, fidgeting slightly as she adjusted her pastel-colored Etherian royal uniform and patted her pink poof of hair to make sure she was presentable in case the Horde decided to hail them through vidcomms. Bow plopped into the Senior Engineer's chair, quickly returning his attention to the datapad in hand, likely poring over ship diagnostics.

Adora glanced to her right and cocked an eyebrow. "Bow, zip up your maintenance jacket, please." She said with a teasing smirk. The Senior Engineer looked up, surprised for a moment, then glanced back down to his shirt.

"Ah, oops! Sorry, didn't even think about that." He said sheepishly, noticing that his oil-stained white tank-top was on full display. He pulled the zipper up, then grinned widely in Adora's direction.

Glimmer giggled and teased, "I don't know, Adora... now we've hidden the fact that the Senior Engineer actually does something around here."

"Or! Or... you just want to see me with less clothes?" Bow retorted, eliciting a stifled snort of amusement from the Fire Control Officer.

The Communications Officer interrupted the exchange behind him, "Ma'am, we're being hailed. Shall I patch them through?"

Adora hummed softly and, suppressing her own smirk, nodded. "So they're the 'hail first and shoot later' sort then? I like them already. Okay, no more flirting. Let’s at least try to look professional," she glanced between her friends at her sides before looking up towards the Comm Officer, "go ahead and link the audio-comms. We'll switch to vidcomms if they demand it."

The Ensign gave a sharp nod and began to type away at his monitor. "Link established."

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow all three straightened their posture and turned towards the central screen on the far wall. A new window opened, filling the display with the visage of a soft-featured young man with sandy-blonde hair. Adora's blue eyes went wide, her lips parting for a moment as she stared at the display screen. She recognized Kyle immediately. He still looked just as scrawny and boyish as when they were younger. Even through their often brutal years as cadets he'd somehow managed to retain the stringy build and dopey-yet-kind face that made her and the others in the orphanage both tease and protect him in equal measure. To see a face from her past so perfectly preserved shook Adora's professional rigidity, if only for a moment, though she also noted that he had gained more bags under his eyes that gave him a look of painfully familiar weariness.

"Unidentified Alliance cruiser, this is the HNS Penitent Dragoon. You are currently traveling, unsanctioned, through Horde-controlled territory. Please shift from audio-comms to vidcomms and identify yourself and your purpose in this system immediately. If you refuse to comply we will be forced to take appropriate action against your vessel.”

Hearing Kyle's military tone and the thinly-veiled threat of Horde retaliation brought Adora back down from her emotional reeling. She needed to be in control. People counted on her after all. Adora cleared her throat and straightened her uniform, carefully setting her expression before nodding to the Comms Officer to switch to video communications.

"This is Special Operations Admiral Adora S. Grey of the Outworld Alliance. I am currently the acting Captain of the royal envoy cruiser, ANV Micah's Pride. We are on a diplomatic mission to the Horde frontier planet FZ-51520 to parley with Fleet Admiral Hordak of the Frontier Occupation Fleet. We request permission to pass and continue our course unmolested by Horde patrols. We also request permission to access warp-stream routes under Horde control in order to reach our destination."

Adora gave her spiel in a measured, detached tone, attempting to suppress her surprise and complicated emotions with the weight of her responsibilities. As she finished she watched as Kyle's face went through a range of expressions in rapid-succession. He frowned and his brows furrowed as he leaned closer to his screen and scrutinized the voice and image. It took only a moment for his eyes to widen as the realization hit him and he looked a mixture of flabbergasted and panicked.

"M-ma'am!" the Horde Communications Officer suddenly stuttered and shouted, rising and turning away from his terminal. The video feed flickered and shifted into static, before the frame flickered once more to a still image displaying the emblem of the Galactic Horde's Imperial Standard.

"Did.... did he just put us on hold?" Bow asked incredulously.

Adora frowned, noting how the bridge crew looked to one another, confused. She could hear them murmuring and shifting in their seats.

Glimmer sighed and hunched forwards in a huff, pinching the bridge of her nose, "And here we were worrying about looking professional for them! Of all the amateur..."

Adora cleared her throat pointedly at Glimmer, interrupting the Princess' brewing tirade. "Glim, the feed is suspended, not cut. They could patch back in at literally any moment," her voice raised and she looked out to the rest of the crew, "so let's keep chatter to a minimum, everybody." Mentally she'd already decided not to bring up her relationship with the enemy vessel's Ensign until later on. Not until she'd processed her feelings well enough to articulate them to her friends without looking like a sputtering idiot. She knew she'd need to let Rogelio know about this as soon as they were back in Alliance space. Hopefully Kyle would be professional enough not to make too much of a scene in front of whoever his Captain was.

Glimmer frowned slightly, but gave a nod and shifted back into a more respectable posture. Each officer turned back to their monitors and focused on their work, though Adora could feel the air of uneasy confusion still hanging about the room. Her scar became noticeably itchy again, making her cheek subtly twitch every so often as she tried to focus and stare ahead at the view-screen, as if standing at attention. Her own uneasiness was betrayed by her gloved hand clenching into a fist and releasing repetitively as she tried to focus on the infuriatingly dull feelings in her left extremity.

It would be a few more moments, each one dragging on in awkward silence, before the feed cut back in. The face that greeted Adora, the eyes that stared back at the bridge crew, made Adora's chest tight. It was a face she was even less mentally prepared to see than Kyle's. Impossibly less prepared to see.

She shot up from the Captain's chair, wincing and tripping a bit as her left leg protested the sudden shift from resting to standing. Despite the discomfort of her body she refused to tear her focus from the view-screen, her expression dazed as she stared into eyes she never thought she'd see again.

Unevenly blue eyes met mismatched turquoise and gold eyes, holding each other as their respective crews looked to their commanding officers in utter bewilderment.

Their voices overlapped as they breathed out one another's names, like whispers alone in the dark. As if no one else was there to hear them.

"Adora."

"Catra."


	2. Talking to Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following directly from Chapter 1! We get a Scorpia this time, and concerned friends all around... building to a face-to-face meeting for the first time in years! Enjoy <3

"What the hell is this?"

The question broke Adora from her stupor, pulling her back into a reality that had begun to feel decidedly unreal.

"Wh-... what?" She stuttered, feeling anxiety and confusion, alongside a swirl of other emotions she most certainly did not want to think about.

"You're dead... I saw your ship go down in a ball of fucking fire!" The girl on the screen looked as shaken as Adora, the tawny fur on her body visibly bristling wherever her black and red Horde Navy uniform did not cover it. Her shoulders were tensed, her expression a mess of emotion kept barely in check.

Adora's own blue and gold uniform felt suddenly constricting and far, far too warm. She grimaced and struggled to form words, feeling the confusion of her bridge crew on the recycled air.

"I... I didn't go down with the ship." She managed, unsure of herself, sounding like a child being admonished.

"Clearly." After a beat of silence Catra practically spat the word from the screen. Her own unsteadiness began to settle into a tense, hostile stance, and a look of sickening fury on her face. Those beautiful uneven eyes stared daggers through the viewscreen.

The tone of Catra's voice, and the sheer, overwhelming nature of the situation itself, struck Adora like a direct hit from a torpedo. An absolute killshot. Her stomach twisted and her chest clenched. She could feel the anger, the resentment just seething towards her. The guilt that burbled up to meet it struggled against her responsibilities, her need to be in control, to do her job. Her hands balled into tight fists at her sides, the knuckles on her right hand going white. She closed her eyes for a moment, inhaled sharply, then looked up.

"I am Admiral Adora S. Grey of the Outworld Alliance Special Operations Fleet, acting CO of the diplomatic cruiser, ANV Micah's Pride. I am requesting permission for safe passage to FZ-51520, under direct orders from Queen Angela Moon of Etheria, in the hopes of opening peaceful negotiations with Frontier Fleet Admiral Hordak."

For a moment Catra's anger subsided into a look of genuine bewilderment, taken aback by Adora's sharp turn into an attempted cold professionalism. Her cat-like ears perked up for a moment in surprise, before folding back, her face shifting to a look so sour it would seem more appropriate on the face of a drill instructor whipping an insubordinate cadet.

The edge of Catra's lip twitched into a sneer as she gave her own reply, "I am Force Captain Catra M. Grey of the Galactic Horde Imperium's Frontier Occupation Fleet. Your request will only be considered after we contact the Admiral for confirmation and perform a thorough security sweep of your vessel. If we find any reasons aboard your ship to detain you, trust me, it will be my pleasure. Prepare to be boarded." The last two sentences came out as a growl.

Before Adora could respond the feed cut out. She felt adrift, the effort it took to muster even a temporary air of military rigidity and curt professionalism could not sustain it for long. She took a step back, nearly collapsing into the command chair, her right eye wet with tears.

"Adora, what the HELL was that?!" Glimmer shouted, swinging her seat about to face her friend. Bow angled his own chair to face her as well.

"Admiral, Horde Wolf Pack is on approach. Destroyers spreading to flank us, their command cruiser en route to come along our port side." The Watchman cut in.

Adora swallowed and frowned, "Decrease from cruising speed to full stop. Light up our portside docking hatch for them. Have all weapons and crew stand down." She felt shaky, adrift, as if there were momentary input lag between her brain giving commands and her body carrying them out through actions and words.

Several voices of the bridge crew confirmed with, "Aye," but she paid them little mind. Adora chewed the inside of her cheek, staring dead ahead. She had to stop herself from scratching her scar raw.

"Adora..." Bow cut in tentatively, "Who was she?"

She inhaled through her nose, closing her eyes and focusing on the feeling of her chest rising, then falling as she exhaled slowly through her mouth. She turned to face him, regarding how expressive his eyes were. It was far from difficult to see the worry in those eyes.

"We…” she paused, thinking of how best to put it, “we grew up together. We did everything together. The last time I saw her I had literally just been promoted to Force Captain. The last time she saw me... was my ship going down under rebel fire in orbit around Thaymor."

Bow regarded his friend gently as she spoke. Adora counted herself thankful that, if the bridge crew were listening in, they at the very least remained focused on their tasks.

"She had the same last name as you." Glimmer remarked, gently, but obviously curious.

"We were orphans. I was one of the only ones in the orphanage who actually knew my last name. When Catra and I joined the Naval Academy on Prime as teens... well... she needed a proper name to put down on the documents. She took mine." Adora spoke, trying to focus on the simple facts of their history together, and to ignore the memory of how much her heart had fluttered when Catra had asked permission to 'borrow' her name.

Bow set a hand on Adora's right hand, her real hand. "Are you... okay?"

She shook her head, heaving out another unsteady breath. "I..." she swallowed thickly, frowned, then looked up, "I'll be fine. We... we can talk about this more after we pass their security sweep."

Glimmer and Bow both looked apprehensive, glancing at one another with worried expressions before they both turned their attention back on Adora. Before they could say anything else she hurried to pull her hand from Bow's and busied herself with the command chair's armrest commpad, linking herself into the shipboard intercom.

"All hands, this is Admiral Grey. We are being boarded by a Horde security team in order to be cleared for further entry into Horde-controlled space. During the security sweep I ask that everyone aboard avoids confrontation and complies with their procedures in order to make this as quick and painless as possible. Bridge out." She swiped the comms off and fell back against her chair.

"We've reached full stop, ma'am."

"Thank you Helmsman." Adora turned to Bow, "You'll have command while Glim and I go meet this security team of theirs."

He nodded softly, Adora already beginning to stand. "Afterwards we're sitting down to talk, okay?"

She adjusted her uniform and looked down at him with a weary smile. "Okay."

~

Catra tore through the ship on her way to the airlock. Well, it was more of an enraged powerwalk, projecting a resting bitchface that no crewmember would want to be caught near, but Catra certainly felt as if she were unhinged. A myriad of emotions raged within her, tears stinging her eyes and threatening to overflow.

“Captain!”

She ignored the voice behind her and marched on down the corridor. Her boots, constraining her clawed feet, felt more uncomfortable than usual as she stomped along her warpath.

“Force Captain!”

Again, she ignored the voice.

“Dammit… Wildcat!”

This time Catra stopped, the old nickname making her grumble as she aboutfaced.

“What?! What is it, Commander? I told you to take the damn bridge!” She fumed at the towering figure that had only just managed to catch up with her.

The large woman before her grimaced, but held her ground. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Okay? Scorpia. I am… far from okay.” Catra hissed, her feline fangs on clear display.

“Look… I want to make sure you don’t, y’know, relapse. You personally asked me to help keep you steady, and I am not about to betray that!”

Catra backed down at that, her shoulders suddenly drooping. “Yeah… yeah, I know. You’re… just being a good friend and a good XO. I get it. But this? This? This is...”

“It’s a lot. I know.” The tall Officer looked down to her friend with a soft, sad smile. “I haven’t seen you fuming like this since… well… since right after you thought you lost her.”

“Clearly all that time being miserable was for nothing.” Catra said bitterly.

Scorpia winced, scratching the back of her short white hair awkwardly. “Don’t say that, Cap. You’ve come a long way since then.”

Catra sighed, rubbing her eyes. “I was hoping that meant I’d gotten over her. And then, of course, she shows up like some kind of gods damned ghost… Look, Scorp, just take the bridge. I’ll be back soon, alright?”

Scorpia fidgeted for a moment, looking unsure, but ultimately relented. “Aye, ma’am. Be safe over there.” She gave a small salute before turning to head back to the bridge, stealing a glance over her shoulder as Catra stood in the hall, pressing her palms into her eyes and sighing.

~

Adora was nervous. More nervous than she’d been in years. She stood, rigid as a board, shoulders squared, as they waited near the portside airlock door. A series of heavy metallic clunks and thuds, a few computerized beeps and squeals, and a hiss of air indicated that the Micah’s Pride and the Penitent Dragoon were now docked.

“You alright?” Glimmer said quietly, standing beside Adora, but not looking away from the blast door.

“Not exactly, but it is vitally important to the Alliance that we don’t screw this up, so I can handle myself.”

Glimmer frowned, but did not protest.

A digital sound chimed from the door as the lights around it switched from red to green. Several crewmembers scurried about for one final ready check before giving the thumbs up to Adora.

“Everything checks out, ma’am. They’re safe to come aboard.”

Adora nodded curtly, “Thank you. Unlock the doors.”

“Aye.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another quick chapter as I settle into a new job irl and try to get a feel for the balance of writing, grad school, work, and still fitting in some leisure time!
> 
> Lengthier chapters are on the way... hope y'all are enjoying! <3


	3. A Step Across the Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Horde Marines sweep the ANV Micah's Pride.  
> Catra and Adora sit down to talk.

A great deal of trust is involved in the process of ship-to-ship docking. There is, obviously, the 'Big Picture' sort of trust between the two ships and their crews. The trust that both will remain docked in place, respecting safety procedures, in order to ensure that neither party ends up with a hull breach, or a contingent of crewmen sucked into the vacuum due to umbilical severance. There is also, however, a more minuscule, detail-oriented sort of trust. The trust that each and every mechanism, program, and engineering concept perform their duties without fail. That the umbilical extends and forms a safe seal with the other ship's dock, and that the outer walls of the glorified hallway-in-space can withstand potential debris clinking against its hull. The sort of trust that all space-faring civilizations must be built upon, lest none would dare set foot onto a starship.

Neither of these forms of trust registered as concerns for Force Captain Catra Grey as she led a boarding team of marines across the short umbilical now bridging the gap through space between the Penitent Dragoon and Micah's Pride. Her mind was strictly focused on a tall blonde in uniform waiting on the other side of the void. Not to mention the fact that her destroyers were in position to completely obliterate the Alliance ship if they pulled anything. Though she really doubted it would come to that. She really hoped it wouldn't at least.

"I want a thorough sweep of the ship. Give me a full report on crew size and weapons capabilities as soon as you all are finished. If they give you any trouble you are authorized to use force. Non-lethal incapacitation if able, deadly force if necessary. Am I understood?" She spoke without turning back.

"Yes, ma'am!" They responded in unison, metallic voices filtered through impersonal gray helmets. Dark visors covered their faces.

"If it looks like they're here for a fight I'll drag Adora back to Prime myself." She growled, less to her marines than to herself, her boots clunking through the bare, industrial architecture of the umbilical. They reached the blast door at the end of the cramped corridor and stood in wait. Catra felt her body tense involuntarily as the door hissed open.

~

The interior of the ANV Micah's Pride was a far cry from the utilitarian design found within the HNS Penitent Dragoon and, for that matter, most Horde ships. A soft, pastel color palette combined with gently curving walls and high ceilings gave the impression of a pleasant terrestrial building, imbued with various technologies, and then sent careening off into space. Though Catra knew before coming aboard that Micah's Pride was a vessel intended for diplomatic work, travel, and only light defensive engagement rather than any major form of ship-to-ship naval combat, it still managed to surprise her. After years in the Horde navy any ship that even hinted at a sense of homeyness or comfort for its occupants felt decidedly foreign.

She glowered as her eyes swept the room she walked into. A room that struck Catra as being more akin to a lobby than a docking bay. There were several rows of white seating, arranged symmetrically, and even what appeared to be a receptionist’s desk against the far wall, beside the blast door into the ship proper. Hardly fitting, she thought, for a room meant to send and receive people across the deadly void just outside the ship. Her gaze settled on the small party across the room and she felt her chest clench.

At the head of the group stood Adora in full Outworld Alliance naval regalia. A blue uniform, accented with gold, and a flag officer’s hat atop her head. Her shoulders were squared and face set. Impassive. Beside her stood the short girl with the poof of pink hair that Catra had seen earlier on the viewscreen. The girl's face was softer than Adora's, her stance a bit loose by comparison. The uniform she wore was also different from Adora's, pastel in palette, not unlike the ship itself, and styled as if a military uniform had been chewed up and spit out by some fairy tale princess. Catra immediately decided that she hated it.

The Force Captain advanced, her contingent of marines close behind gave her a small boost in confidence, enough to help puff her chest out and march forward. Her defiant swagger faltered, however, as she closed in on Adora and took note of details she had missed during the short, bitter viewscreen encounter between the two.

What struck Catra immediately was the color of Adora’s eyes, or rather, the colors. Both eyes were still blue, but only Adora’s right eye was the same blue that stared back at Catra in her memories. A grayish blue that seemed to warn of some distant, oncoming storm. The other eye, the left, was a brighter, almost artificial looking blue, mismatched from its partner. Running down Adora’s face, from brow to cheek and crossing over the wrong-colored eye, was a slash of scar tissue, paler and differently textured from the rest of her skin. The scar echoed some traumatic head wound long since healed, about as well as it _could_ be healed. A wound that, Catra quickly realized, had cost the girl her eye.

As the realization dawned on Catra she could feel her stomach beginning to churn. The confusion, the anger, the _hurt_ still stood at the forefront of her feelings, but now guilt and worry for her childhood friend burbled up to intermingle with everything else. It was a mixture that made her sick. She liked things clear cut, uncomplicated. This mess of feelings made it difficult to decide how to act. She hated it with every fiber of her being.

“Force Captain.” Adora acknowledged her stiffly as the Horde boarding team reached the Outworld welcoming committee. She tilted her head down slightly to make eye contact.

“Admiral.” Catra responded, willing herself to project the same defiant spirit she had felt only a few moments beforehand. As she looked up to meet Adora’s eyes she made a point to jut her chin at the blonde.

“Welcome aboard the ANV Micah’s Pride,” Adora suddenly relaxed her shoulders and put out her right hand. Though she didn’t quite smile, Catra could see her expression soften just a bit.

She looked down at Adora’s hand, hanging expectantly in the space between them. Catra put out her hand to grasp and shake, and found herself having to repress a sudden explosion of emotions as soon as they touched. Their hands must have held onto one another longer than they should have, Catra realized, as she noticed the pastel Executive Officer glancing at them with a raised brow. She cleared her throat and retracted her hand, maybe a bit too quickly, and returned to starting down Adora.

“My marines are going to perform a full sweep of all relevant departments aboard this vessel. My ship’s sensors are already probing for any prominent indicators of contraband or military technology that we would deem too dangerous to allow any further coreward, understood?”

“Crystal clear, Force Captain,” Adora nodded sharply and looked up to the contingent of Horde marines behind Catra, then gestured to her side, “Commodore Glimmer Moon here will accompany you all on your safety sweep. Any questions or concerns can be directed towards her or one of our department heads. You have full access to the ship.”

Catra blinked in surprise as she realized just who Adora’s XO was. Glimmer Moon. _Princess_ Glimmer Moon. As in the daughter of de facto Outworld Alliance figureheads Queen Angela Moon and long dead King Micah Moon of Etheria, Glimmer Moon. Not to mention, as a Commodore, Glimmer should have been captaining her own ship and even leading a battlegroup within the Alliance fleet, not playing a Commander-level role aboard a starship. Catra eyed her suspiciously as she turned to face her marines.

“Alright, you heard her. Take the grand tour. Buzz me if you need me.” She tried to sound cool and unphased, vaguely gesturing in Glimmer’s direction.

There was a slight hesitation before the squad acknowledged and formed up to follow the short Etherian woman who was looking at them with a smile that projected nothing but contempt. Adora and Catra watched them disappear past the blast door and into the halls of the ship. The tall blonde turned back to the Force Captain and exhaled.

“We… we have a lot to talk about.”

“That’s an understatement, _Admiral_.” Catra breathed, actively working to keep herself from lashing out in the middle of the docking bay.

“Would you… like to go to my quarters?” She paused suddenly and furrowed her brow. “Wait, no, maybe a conference room would be better? The CO ready room?” Adora became flustered as the implications of her first suggestion sunk in and she began to blush and babble.

It took a moment for Catra to process the rapid change in demeanor as she watched Adora devolve into awkward rambling. She wanted to laugh, she could feel her long forgotten instincts to tease the useless blonde standing in front of her. Instead she pushed them back down, inhaled slowly, and then grumbled out an exhale.

“Admiral Grey. A conference room will be perfectly fine. Lead the way.”

“Right. Apologies. That was… unprofessional.” Adora stiffened again, forcing herself to slip back into the same military rigidity that had enveloped her not even a few minutes before. She cleared her throat, nodded to Catra, then turned on her heel to head toward the blast door. Catra followed close behind, quashing a pang of regret at having suppressed how her heart and body had _wanted_ to respond.

~

They walked together for several minutes, Adora in the lead and Catra keeping pace just behind her, through the obnoxiously pleasant halls of the ship. The soft aesthetic seemed to run throughout the entire vessel, making Catra wonder what the hell the engineering department and engine rooms looked like on this ship. She said nothing as she watched Alliance sailors and soldiers stop and salute as they passed. She could not help but also notice the black glove Adora wore only on her left hand, but decided to remain quiet.

Once they finally reached the conference room Adora gestured Catra over to a chair then seated herself directly opposite. Catra frowned. The seat was unnecessarily comfortable. She could see herself using this room to curl up and nap more than she could envision it for focused, important meetings and tactical discussions. She was in the middle of deciding on a verbal jab about Adora leaving her for a soft, luxurious position, when she heard the other woman hiss in obvious pain. Catra’s eyes shot up and she caught the wincing twitch of Adora’s face as she eased herself down into the seat.

“Are you-...”

“I’m fine. Just an old wound.” Adora cut her off, but Catra could clearly see how the Admiral’s jaw remained clenched and lips pressed tight for a moment after she settled into the chair.

“Adora,” Catra shot her a look.

Adora sighed and pulled her hat off with her gloved hand, running her right down her face, “Yeah. I know. I’m not fine. But I am _fine_.”

“What the hell happened to you?”

“I wanted so badly to find you. I thought I’d never get to see you again.” Adora mused sadly, staring down at the flag officer’s hat in her hands, turning it idly.

“Adora.” Catra said sharply, “Tell me what happened. I thought you were dead. For years! I fucking _mourned_ you! And then you suddenly show up as an admiral? With the _enemy_!”

The blonde winced and nodded, looking back up into the magicat’s mismatched eyes. She began to speak, but her breath hitched. Catra’s feline ears twitched when she heard the catch in Adora’s throat. Every instinct that felt natural compelled her to comfort the girl across from her. She frowned and ignored her instincts. She was hurting, she felt betrayed. She wasn’t about to roll over and suddenly act as if everything was okay just because Adora was in pain. As much as it made her chest ache. She needed answers. She was going to damn well get them. Adora set the hat on the table and laid her hands flat on either side of it.

She sighed and looked up at Catra.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another quick addition to the fic! Hope y'all are enjoying the story and staying safe out there! Much love to everyone!
> 
> Next up? A flashback scene covering the Battle of Thaymor!

**Author's Note:**

> SO She-Ra gave my gay little heart so much joy and my gremlin mind so many brainworms that I threw myself into fanfic for the first time ever. After a while of reading and loving the work of some of y'all here I decided to give it a shot! I haven't written creatively in years and this is my first fic literally ever... so apologies in advance if it feels rough!
> 
> I wanted to combine my love of sci-fi and my fangirl obsession with my canon lesbians (LET'S GOOOOOOOO) into an AU so uh... here you go! This is a sci-fi fic where the Horde is a galactic empire and the Alliance is a loose band of planets at the edge of the galaxy... in future chapters there will be space war shenanigans... so some ships gon' blow up! BE PREPARED
> 
> My tagging is like completely chaos I'm new to posting things on ao3 pls forgive lol
> 
> A huge thank you to Jezmatron here on AO3 for both inspiring me with his writing and being such a wonderful voice of encouragement as I worked on lore and worldbuilding... I needed that constant prodding to get to writing! You can find him on Twitter @jezlash (also check out his works on this site, they rock!)
> 
> But I hope y'all enjoy! Let me know in the comments what you think of this lil opening chapter! <3
> 
> ( You can find me on Twitter @HeldOlivia and @crt_ghost )


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